


addicted to your touch

by swishoflight



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hope Mikaelson Needs a Hug, Josie Saltzman Will Provide Said Hug, Touch-Starved Hope
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28123020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swishoflight/pseuds/swishoflight
Summary: The moment Josie reciprocates the hug, Hope’s world tilts on its axis.She had forgotten what it was like to be held. Josie’s warmth envelops her and Hope melts into the embrace, a giddy feeling burrowing into her heart. It feels so nice, Hope has to fight the urge to bury her face in the crook of Josie’s neck and stay there forever.Someone clears their throat.Oh, right. Landon. The reason Hope was hugging Josie in the first place.(Or Fake Dating AU with a touch-starved Hope and a touchy-feely Josie.)
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 65
Kudos: 338





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Writing another Fake Dating AU? It's more likely than you think.

Before her parents passed away, Hope Mikaelson’s life had been filled with warmth; from ‘have a good day at school!’ hugs in the morning and forehead kisses at night, to spontaneous tickle wars in their backyard and Sunday cuddles in her parents’ king-sized bed.

It’s been five years since their fatal accident and while time has helped Hope heal and come to terms with her new reality, everything still feels emptier somehow.

Colder.

It’s not like her aunts don’t love her or don’t make her feel loved. On the contrary, Aunt Freya and Aunt Keelin are constantly reminding her—through both words _and_ actions—of how loved she is… Hope doesn’t know what she would do without them.

But the Malraux-Mikaelson family isn’t exactly affectionate in a physical way and Hope doesn’t really have any friends at school, so the days of hugs, forehead kisses, tickles and cuddles are long behind her.

(These days, her closest form of physical affection are introductory handshakes and accidental—and not-so-accidental—bumps in the school hallways.)

Which is fine, really, Hope doesn’t mind…

Until Josie Saltzman walks into her life and Hope realizes just how touch-starved she is.

*****

Hope’s buzzed. She’s only had a beer or two, so no, she isn’t _drunk_ , she’s just… pleasantly buzzed.

(This won’t stop her from blaming the alcohol for her actions come the next day.)

Jed’s house is packed, the walls vibrating to the rhythm of the music. It’s his annual back-to-school party, one of the most anticipated events at Mystic Falls High School.

This wouldn’t normally be Hope’s scene, but Jed had personally asked her to come, claiming that she couldn’t miss the last back-to-school party of their high school career. They’re not _friends_ per se; Hope was his English tutor last year and she thinks he invited her as a way of saying ‘thank you’.

So, no, they’re not friends, but she didn’t want to be rude and not show up.

(The knowledge that there would be free booze didn’t hurt.)

She had a quick chat with Jed when she arrived, but, other than that, she hasn’t really talked to anyone. She prefers it that way, focusing instead on people-watching: Observing drunk teenagers making a fool of themselves was way more enjoyable than trying to hold a decent conversation with one.

Hope’s smiling at some of the ridiculous dance moves MG and Wade are pulling on the dance floor when something across the room catches her eye.

The new guy—Lennon?—is talking to Josie Saltzman and she looks a bit uncomfortable.

Hope and Josie don’t really know each other. Sure, Hope has seen her around in school, but they’ve never talked to each other… they don’t run in the same circles (well, Hope doesn’t run in any circles).

Still, she finds herself walking closer to where the two are, curious to hear what Lennon is saying to cause the usually-smiley girl to look like she wants to flee the room.

“… just one date, allow me to change your mind, Josie.” _Ah, of course._ She can’t blame Lennon for trying, Josie Saltzman is hot and (as far as Hope knows) single.

“I told you I don’t—”

“But a date would give you the chance to get to know me better!” Hope can, however, blame him for interrupting Josie (which, _rude_ ) and being so damn insistent. It’s not a good look.

Josie frowns, clearly done with this conversation. “We can get to know each other as _friends_ and…”

Lennon opens his mouth to interrupt Josie _again_ , so Hope (the alcohol) decides to step in. She doesn’t know what drives her to do it (the alcohol), but instead of saying something, she hugs Josie.

“Follow my lead,” she hears herself whisper into Josie’s ear.

The moment Josie reciprocates the hug, Hope’s world tilts on its axis.

She had forgotten what it was like to be held. Josie’s warmth envelops her and Hope melts into the embrace, a giddy feeling burrowing into her heart. It feels so nice, Hope has to fight the urge to bury her face in the crook of Josie’s neck and stay there forever.

Someone clears their throat.

Oh, right. Lennon. The reason Hope was hugging Josie in the first place.

“Hey babe, sorry I’m late,” Hope says as she breaks the hug, giving Josie a quick kiss on the cheek before turning around to face Lennon.

She can see Josie blush from the corner of her eye. “It’s okay, baby,” Hope’s heart doesn’t seem to understand that this isn’t real, because it jumps of joy at the term of endearment, “I was just chatting with Landon here while I waited for you.”

Ooh, _Landon_ not Lennon.

Whatever.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” Hope offers Landon her hand, “I’m Hope, Josie’s girlfriend.”

Landon drops Hope’s hand as if he’s been burned, looking between them with a dumbfounded expression. “G-girlfriend?”

“Yes,” a predatorial smile takes over Hope’s face, knowing he’s exactly where she wants him. “Don’t tell me you were trying to flirt with her?” Her tone is light, but her eyes scream murder.

“N-no! Of course not,” Landon rushes to reassure her, “I… I’ll let you two catch up! It was nice meeting you, Hope! Bye, Josie!” He practically runs out of the room, bumping into a few people in his haste.

Hope lets out a small laugh. That was way too easy.

“Thank you.” Hope finds herself being pulled into another hug and instinctively wraps her arms around Josie. It’s probably the alcohol talking (it’s _definitely_ the alcohol talking), but she thinks that here—in Josie’s arms—is her new favorite place in the world.

It ends far too quickly for Hope’s liking, with Josie stepping back after only a couple of seconds.

 _Fuck_. Alcohol is making her go all weak over a simple hug.

Pathetic.

“Don’t mention it,” Hope offers Josie a soft smile, which the other girl is quick to return. “It just seemed like he was bothering you.”

“Ugh, you don’t know the half of it,” Josie murmurs as she rubs her temple. “He started asking me out last week, the day after dad made me and Lizzie give him the welcome tour.”

“Wow, the boy really can’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“Yep, lucky me!” Josie makes a mock ‘hooray’ gesture, earning a laugh from Hope. Why had she never talked to this girl before? “Honestly, thank you. I think I was about to commit murder.”

“Don’t worry, I would have helped you hide the body.” Hope punctuates this with a wink.

Josie’s smile widens and she places a hand on Hope’s arm. Hope has to stop herself from leaning into the touch—Josie’s magnetic and she is _drunk_. “Hope Mikaelson, you are my hero.”

_Oh._

“I just hope Landon doesn’t find out we’re not actually dating or I’ll have to deal with him asking me out _again_ ,” Josie adds and mutters something that sounds like ‘fun times’ under her breath.

Hope’s about to respond when Josie’s phone starts ringing. “Sorry,” she says before picking it up. “Hey Lizzie…”

It’s a very short conversation, which Josie ends with a “I’ll be right there.”

“Well, that’s my cue to leave. I’m the designated driver and my designated drivee wishes—nay, _demands_ to go home.” Josie pulls her into another quick hug and Hope (the alcohol) almost asks her to stay. “Bye, Hope! I’ll see you around.”

“Bye, Josie, drive safely.”

Hope follows Josie with her gaze until the girl is out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Come talk to me on Twitter @swishoflight.  
> Sorry it's short, but I wrote this in a few hours and I am slow, lol. For those of you reading "just a trick of light", working on an update for that as well :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and comments on chapter 1! Hope you enjoy this one as well :)

Hope doesn’t spend the rest of the weekend thinking about Josie Saltzman and her hugs.

She doesn’t.

That would be middle-school-girl-with-a-crush levels of pathetic and Mikaelsons do _not_ do pathetic.

Come Monday morning, Hope’s convinced herself that her strong reaction to the hugs was because of the alcohol. People get more affectionate when they’re drunk, right?

Right.

So she goes about her day as usual, determined to avoid any further Josie-and-Landon drama.

Mostly determined to avoid the Josie part of the equation.

(She’s not scared of her strong reaction to the hugs because _that was just the alcohol_. Hope simply likes her under-the-radar status at school and doesn’t want some relationship drama to get in the way of that.)

It seems like fate has other plans, however, because the end of the school day finds none other than Josie Saltzman leaning against Hope’s locker.

So much for avoiding the girl.

“Hi Hope.” Josie moves to give Hope access to her locker. She seems a bit nervous, but that can’t be—Josie practically owns this school, she doesn’t do nervous.

“Hi Josie,” Hope opens her locker and starts putting her books away, “what’s up?”

“Um...” It appears Josie _does_ do nervous after all, if the way she’s hesitating and biting her lip is any indication. “I was wondering if we could talk?”

This has to be about Friday night. They had literally never interacted with each other before that party, and now here Josie is, actively seeking Hope out?

Hope closes her locker and contemplates making a run for it. Josie has longer legs, sure, but Hope is definitely the most athletic out of the two, so she thinks she could...

Okay, _no_. Hope quickly puts a stop to that train of thought. What the hell is wrong with her? It’s just a simple conversation, she’s being ridiculous.

“Sure.” Hope tries to appear nonchalant, as if she hadn’t been measuring her chances of a successful escape only seconds ago.

Josie looks around them. Students are starting to head home, but the hallway is still fairly busy. “In private?”

Shit. This is definitely about Friday. “Sure,” she shrugs and this seems to be enough for Josie, who grabs her hand and begins walking in the opposite direction of the school’s front doors, dragging Hope with her.

They walk in silence. Hope’s not really paying attention to where they’re headed, her eyes glued to their connected hands.

She’s not used to having someone hold her hand. The last time she had dated someone was back when she was thirteen. Their fingers are not even intertwined (and why would they be? Despite what they told Landon, Josie and Hope are most definitely _not_ dating) and it already feels nicer than whenever Roman, her ex-boyfriend, used to hold her hand.

Roman’s hands were rough and careless, while Josie’s are soft and delicate and warm.

( _Everything_ about Josie is warm, she’s starting to realize.)

They must have reached the destination Josie had in mind—the music room, Hope notes—because she lets go of Hope’s hand.

Hope immediately misses Josie’s touch.

“Someone told Landon we’re not dating.” Josie wastes no time beating around the bush.

“Well, that was quick.” Is this Landon guy obsessed with Josie or something? “Sorry our little charade didn’t buy you more time.”

“About that…” Josie looks down guiltily for a second, which tells Hope she’s not going to like whatever comes out of her mouth next. “When Landon confronted me about it, I might have told him not a lot of people know about us because we used to be dating in secret…”

Oh, okay. That wasn’t too bad.

“So, um, I was wondering if you could pretend to be my girlfriend around school for a little while longer?”

 _Oh_. That was bad. That was definitely bad.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this, you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with, it’s just that…” Josie sighs, “today was _so_ peaceful compared to last week. I didn’t have to spend any energy avoiding him because he didn’t seek me out at all after I confirmed we were dating.”

Nope. There’s _no way_ Hope’s doing this. Josie is one of the school’s it-girls and Hope doesn’t want the attention that comes with ‘dating’ a popular person; the whispers, the poorly-concealed looks of envy.

No, thank you, she’s good with how things are now.

It’s not that she doesn’t feel bad for Josie and her current predicament, but constantly having to keep the act up at school is different than one drunken conversation at a party. Pretending to be girlfriends in front of the entire school is a tad too much, if you ask Hope.

Hope opens her mouth to say as much but is caught off guard by the desperation she sees in Josie’s eyes.

In Josie’s _puppy eyes_.

Ah, crap. Hope knows, in that moment, that she’s done for. Only a person with no heart could possibly think of saying ‘no’ to those puppy eyes.

(And despite popular belief, Hope _does_ have a heart.)

“Fine, I’ll do it.” The words are barely out of her mouth when Josie lets out a little squeal, followed by a string of ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’ and a hug.

With Josie’s strong arms around her, Hope is immediately convinced she made the right decision by agreeing to help the girl, consequences be damned.

Hope closes her eyes and allows herself to enjoy the hug.

(If it feels as amazing as the hugs at the party, it’s only because she probably has some traces of alcohol left in her system.)

*****

They agree to meet the next day before class in the library. No sane student would be at the school library at 7 AM on a Tuesday, much less this early in the year, so they should be okay to discuss their ‘relationship’ without being overheard.

When Hope arrives at 7:08 AM—she’s not used to waking up this early, Josie should be grateful she showed up at all—, she quickly spots Josie sitting at one of the tables near the back, looking down at her phone.

 _Okay, here we go_.

Josie must hear her approach because she looks up from her phone and offers Hope a radiant smile. How she’s this peppy so early in the day is beyond Hope… Maybe she’s agreed to date some sort of morning demon who will ultimately kill her and consume her soul?

God, she really needs some coffee.

“Good morning, _babe_.” Josie emphasizes the pet name, a giddy look on her face, and winks at Hope.

Normally, Hope would find this endearing, but it’s really fucking _early_ and she didn’t get a lot of sleep or have time to grab her usual wake-the-fuck-up coffee and…

Hope is just _not_ a morning person, so a mumbled “Morning” is all Josie gets in response.

Hope’s grumpiness doesn’t seem to deter Josie, whose smile never falters. “Thanks for coming, Hope. I thought it’d be good to discuss the logistics of our _situation_ before the school day officially starts.”

She doesn’t mention Hope’s tardiness, which earns her bonus points in Hope’s book.

“Like, for example, for lunch we could take turns sitting with your friend group and mine?”

Well, this is awkward. How does she tell Josie she doesn’t have a friend group without sounding like a complete loser? “Um, I usually just sit by myself at lunch.”

Well, that wasn’t it.

“Oh,” Josie looks taken aback but quickly recovers, “you could sit with us some days then, if that’s okay with you?”

“Sure,” Hope shrugs. She really doesn’t care.

“My friends and sister don’t know this is fake, so…”

“We’ll have to pretend at lunch too, gotcha.” Hope considers this. “Why haven’t you told them?”

Josie bites her lip and studies Hope, like she’s debating whether to be honest with her or not. “They…” She sighs, “my last relationship ended poorly and they think I’m still hung up on my ex. This will shut them up, that’s all.”

Josie looks down at her hands, clearly uncomfortable with the topic, so Hope decides not to probe any further. “What else did you want to discuss?”

This earns her a grateful smile from Josie. “The other main thing I wanted to talk about is PDA, like what you are and aren’t comfortable with.”

Hope takes a minute to think about it. She’s not exactly sure what she’s comfortable with because she’s never really had anyone to share affection publicly with. Sure, there had been Roman, but they had been _thirteen_ ; everything felt awkward back then.

Everything with Josie has been fine so far.

“I think I’m fine with pretty much everything except for,” she clears her throat, her voice coming out slightly lower, “make out sessions and stuff.”

Those words conjure an unbidden image in Hope’s mind: Josie pushing her against a locker, effectively trapping her there by putting her hands against it on both sides of Hope’s body; Josie’s lips insistent against Hope’s, almost as if demanding to be devoured in front of the entire sch—

Hope shakes her head, blushing furiously.

 _Fucking hormones_.

(She might be an atheist, but in that moment she prays to God that Josie didn’t notice the glazed-over look in her eyes or the pink color now adorning her cheeks.

That shit would be _humiliating_.)

“Sounds good to me.” Hope swears she can see a faint blush on Josie’s cheeks as well but chalks it up to her mind playing tricks of her.

“Anyway,” Josie clears her throat, standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder, “first period is about to start and Landon’s in my first class. Walk me there, baby?”

Hope finds herself nodding quickly, not even bothering to consider denying her fake girlfriend’s request.

(It’s those stupid puppy eyes again—is Josie even aware she’s doing that?)

As they walk out of the library, Josie takes her hand and interlocks their fingers. Warmth spreads from the tip of her fingers to the rest of her body and suddenly facing the rest of the school doesn’t sound so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry my chapters aren't too long, I'm very slow at writing and have zero patience, lol. Come talk to me on Twitter @swishoflight :)


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